At least fifteen people have reportedly been killed and 19 others severely injured following an armed attack on vehicles travelling from Gambella City toward Itang and the Nuer Zone, survivors and sources familiar with the incident told Gambella Vision.

The attack reportedly occurred on the outskirts of Abol, Gambella Woreda, along one of the region’s key transport corridors connecting Gambella City with communities in Itang and the Nuer Zone. Gambella Vision has independently verified the reported incident, while details concerning the identity and affiliation of the attackers remain under investigation.

According to survivors who spoke to Gambella Vision, the attack targeted several vehicles travelling along the road, including public buses carrying passengers toward Itang and the Nuer Zone.

Sources said armed gunmen opened fire on the vehicles as they passed through the outskirts of Abol, forcing passengers and drivers into a sudden and potentially deadly attack.

The reported casualties include passengers travelling on public transportation as well as people travelling in other vehicles along the same route.

The reported death toll of fifteen was described by sources as involving three people travelling in a Nuer Zone ambulance that was returning patients toward the Nuer Zone, one person travelling in a Toyota vehicle associated with Jekow Woreda, and four people travelling in public buses.

Thirteen other people were reportedly severely injured in the attack. The condition of the injured and where all of them were receiving treatment could not immediately be established in full.

The attack has generated renewed concern among communities that depend heavily on the Gambella City-Abol-Itang corridor for transportation, trade, healthcare, education and access to government and humanitarian services.

The route is particularly important for residents of the Nuer Zone, who regularly travel toward Gambella City and other parts of the region.

An attack affecting several vehicles in the same area therefore has consequences extending beyond the immediate victims.

Sources who spoke to Gambella Vision alleged that the gunmen were Anywaa armed men. The reported attack nevertheless comes against a backdrop of serious and recurring insecurity along the same broader corridor.

In May 2024, ACLED documented an attack on a public bus near Abol while it was travelling from Itang Special Woreda toward Gambella town, with several people reportedly injured, including police escorts.

Days later, ACLED documented deadly clashes in Pulkot, Itang Special Woreda, involving state police and an unidentified armed group.

The clashes reportedly killed civilians and security personnel, injured others and displaced more than 10,000 people, while the Gambella-Itang road was temporarily closed.

The security concerns have continued into the more recent period. In December 2025, the Aid Worker Security Database recorded the killing of an international NGO worker during an ambush on the Itang-Abol-Gambella road.

The database identified the attackers as unknown armed actors and did not establish their affiliation or motive.

This provides an independently documented example of the risks faced by people travelling on the corridor, although it does not establish any connection between that incident and the latest attack.

More recently, a 23 August 2026 report by Borkena described another armed attack on a convoy travelling from Gambella City toward Tharpam in the Nuer Zone, along the road between Abol District and Itang Special Woreda.

The report said approximately a dozen passengers may have been injured, including four reportedly in critical condition, and included a preliminary allegation that the attackers were affiliated with Anywaa armed elements.

The report itself said the casualty figures and identity of the attackers had not been independently confirmed.

The latest reported attack therefore comes after a series of incidents that have repeatedly placed the Abol-Itang corridor under scrutiny.

What makes the current incident particularly serious, according to the accounts received by Gambella Vision, is the reported number of vehicles affected and the scale of casualties.

If the reported figures are confirmed by authorities, twelve deaths in a single attack would represent a major escalation in the immediate security risks facing civilian transportation along the route.

The incident also risks deepening existing Anywaa-Nuer tensions in Gambella. The two communities have been involved in recurring cycles of violence in different parts of the region, and previous conflict has resulted in deaths, displacement and disruption of civilian life.

However, the circumstances of the latest attack must be established through evidence rather than collective attribution. Responsibility for an attack belongs to the individuals or organized group.

This article was written by Pam Chuol Joack, a Gambella Vision contributor and an analyst in Gambella Affairs.2